The rotten core of presentism

Tallant, Jonathan; Ingram, David

doi:10.1007/s11229-020-02965-w

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(31 reference statements)

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“…It is worth to note that, as highlighted by Tallant and Ingram (Ref. [12]), a well-defined philosophical framework of Presentism is missing, as several (and sometimes contradicting) descriptions are proposed in the literature. Among them, we will consider in this contribution the definition stating that "Only the present time exists (No non-present time exists)".…”

Section: Identifying a Quantum Of Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Potential of a Thick Present through Undefined Causality and Non-Locality

Capurso¹

2022

Entropy

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This paper elaborates on the interpretation of time and entanglement, offering insights into the possible ontological nature of information in the emergence of spacetime, towards a quantum description of gravity. We first investigate different perspectives on time and identify in the idea of a “thick present” the only element of reality needed to describe evolution, differences, and relations. The thick present is connected to a spacetime information “sampling rate”, and it is intended as a time symmetric potential bounded between a causal past of irreversible events and a still open future. From this potential, spacetime emerges in each instant as a space-like foliation (in a description based on imaginary paths). In the second part, we analyze undefined causal orders to understand how their potential could persist along the thick present instants. Thanks to a C-NOT logic and the concept of an imaginary time, we derive a description of entanglement as the potential of a logically consistent open choice among imaginary paths. We then conceptually map the imaginary paths identified in the entanglement of the undefined orders to Closed Time-like Curves (CTC) in the thick present. Considering a universe described through information, CTC are interpreted as “memory loops”, elementary structures encoding the information potential related to the entanglement in both time and space, manifested as undefined causality and non-locality in the emerging foliation. We conclude by suggesting a possible extension of the introduced concepts in a holographic perspective.

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Section: Identifying a Quantum Of Evolutionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Potential of a Thick Present through Undefined Causality and Non-Locality

Capurso¹

2022

Entropy

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“…Tallant and Ingram face the critics to a Presentism perspective in Ref. [6], and highlight that a well-defined philosophical framework of Presentism is missing, and that several descriptions are proposed in the literature. Following Ref.…”

Section: The Present Of Timementioning

confidence: 99%

Relativity and Information in the Present

Capurso¹

2022

Preprint

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We elaborate on the compatibility of a Presentism perspective with Special Relativity. Specifically, we first introduce a description of evolution in present instants and connect it with the recent studies on the discreteness of time in Quantum Mechanics. Then, we consider the insights from Information Theory to describe how we may conceive a relativistic spacetime from an evolving space foliation through the concept of information sampling. In the final part, we elaborate on GR in the context of a thick Present and speculate on the possible extensions of the proposed framework.

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“…The Growing Block, for example, is committed to the existence of the past that grows as ever more present moments are added (Broad 1923; Tooley 1997; Correia and Rosenkranz 2003; Braddon‐Mitchell 2004; Forest 2004; Merricks 2006; Forbes 2015; Deng 2017; Correia and Rosenkranz 2018; Miller 2018; Perović 2019). Presentism, on the other hand, holds that only the present moment exists; the past is gone, and the future is not yet here; only and all existing things are present things (Bigelow 1996; Zimmerman 1998; Hinchliff 2000; Percival 2002; Crisp 2003; Zimmerman, 2004, part 1; Bourne 2006; Fine 2006; Zimmerman 2008; Tamm and Olivier 2019; Emery 2020; Tallant and Ingram 2020). Alternatively, the Moving Spotlight view accepts the existence of all moments in time, but contains the additional postulate that an objective present moment moves through these moments picking out metaphysically privileged nows like a spotlight moving across a field (Skow 2009, 2015; Cameron 2015).…”

Section: Arguments For a B‐theory Of Timementioning

confidence: 99%

Can Sinners Really Change? Understanding Personal Salvation in the Block Universe

Qureshi-Hurst¹

2022

Zygon

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This article brings time and theology together constructively in response to a pressing problem for the doctrine of personal salvation. The problem arises within the physics and metaphysics of time, as these support a so-called temporal B-theory in which time does not pass and reality is comprised of a block universe. Within this static temporal metaphysic, objective change is highly problematized. Yet salvation requires an objective change from fallenness to redemption. So, how can we understand a salvation-transformation in the block universe? In other words, can sinners really change? I argue that on a B-theory of time, a salvation-transformation is best understood as a form of qualitative, phenomenological, and subjective change, rather than a robust ontological change. I conclude that the individual's transformation from fallen to saved is one of minddependent becoming. So, sinners can change. But, in this lifetime, that change can only be subjective.

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The rotten core of presentism

Cited by 12 publications

References 52 publications

The Potential of a Thick Present through Undefined Causality and Non-Locality

The Potential of a Thick Present through Undefined Causality and Non-Locality

Relativity and Information in the Present

Can Sinners Really Change? Understanding Personal Salvation in the Block Universe

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